Down Under
by W0ND3R
Summary: AU James is the Prince of an underwater kingdom. Being the only son in his family, he is destined to be king. Only, he doesn't want to be. He runs away with his friend and Wiccan, Camille, to the Surface, going on a journey that changes everything.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **

Aloha, my beauties! I've been ridiciously into fantasy shit lately, and I though about mermaids. Originally it was going to be Carlos that was the Prince, but James seemed to fit better, considering mermen are supposed to be beautiful and stuff.

ANYWAYS, I do hope you enjoy it and that you will **review** and tell me some stuff you might like to see, or just to tell me that you 'love it' or whatever really. Also I haven't seen any mermaid BTR fics yet, so I'm feeling pretty original. If there is a merfic out there that I haven't seen, I'm sorry for using your idea? But if I am one of the few to do this, do not take my ideas or storylines. It takes a lot of work to make this stuff ;p

This will be a multi-chapter fic as well, if anyone was wondering. And I know I haven't updated _**Got it** **bad** _but I am working on it, pinky promise!

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**SUMMARY:** In this world, merpeople and humans do not mix. In Hallendria, the kingdom under the sea, James is a seventeen year old Prince with curiousity. What happens when his friend and witch Camille offers to take him up and join her on the surface?

Chapter _one_: **The Surface.**

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><p>Some people perceive them as demons of the sea, while others see them as Gods. And really, both were right.<p>

Way down under, sitting on the ocean floor, is a kingdom. A beautifully structured underwater paradise that only merpeople and other aquatic beings could get to. It wasn't by chance that they made the kingdom so deep down under the sea, however. It was structured and built as so to avoid the walkers.

Or, if we are being formal, humans.

Humans and merfolk haven't . . . played nice for quite a while now. Though they are very similar—minus the legs, add the fin and vice versa—. Hundreds of years ago, when humans were just beginning to colonize in North America, merpeople and the walkers were allies, in a sense. Children, both human and mer, were discouraged to interact with the other kind, especially to go to the docks where much of the human-mer ally members conversed and did business.

Marriage between the two was highly illegal, punishable by death if it was found out that you had even _kissed_ a merperson or human, depending on which side you were on.

And, you see, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Queen Matilda of Hallendria was not only deeply in love with a human, but she attempted to use her powers to change him into a merman. She was caught, however, and captured by the humans. She was killed for reason of human manipulation, and when she was pronounced dead to the people of Hallendria, the alliance between the two was broken and, if anything, they became enemies.

Losing all contact and evidence with/of the merpeople, humanity has turned them into a sort of folktale. A mythical creature. It's as if they didn't really exist.

Of course, the merfolk don't exactly like talking about the humans, but the death of their past queen and the alliance with the humans is a fairly important and large contribution of Hallendria's history. That, and the witchcraft.

Witchcraft in the Hallendria kingdom was always frowned upon, but it wasn't until the early seventies that the council came together and illegalized the act of using and/or practicing witchcraft. It was the non-users, the ones who didn't have the ability to harness magic that initiated the illegalization of witchcraft.

They rioted outside of the council hall's doors until finally they sat down with the king and queen and made the decision. Not many people in the mer society could harness the magic, usually only the royales.

The royales consisted of Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses and the occasional council member. When they illegalized it, they even drained away the powers of the magic users. It seemed that, finally, it was quiet in the kingdoms of Hallendria. Well, that was until James Diamond turned seventeen.

James Diamond, Prince and future king of Hallendria, was born into a family consisting of seven daughters, all of whom are older than he. His parents, the King and Queen of Hallendria, wished so badly to conceive a boy. Trying time after time without success, they decided to try just _one more time_ before finally giving up. On that last try, they had the fortune of giving birth to James. If he had been a girl, the Diamond dynasty would have been over and gone forever.

He had brown hair that fell behind him and waved around perfectly in the warm and salty water, soft hazel eyes that had woman swooning at a single glance, and a deep tan that only the sun's rays could give. Naturally, he was slim and heavily toned from the years of swimming. Not that he could do much else, of course.

James was a good, well-educated and proper young man who had the future of Hallendria in his perfectly sculpted hands. Despite his beauty and charm, James Diamond wasn't happy.

He lived every day surrounded by guards, making him want to scream from lack of privacy. Wake up, eat breakfast, work on his studies, practice his royale duties, eat lunch, more of that intensely irritating damn practicing, eat dinner and hurry off to bed. That was exactly what Prince James did on a day to day basis.

His sisters had an immense amount of freedom compared to him. He asked his father once why that was, but all that the King said in response was "They do not have the same royale duties as you. They will not be crowned on their eighteenth birthday as you will." And since he had asked his father that, he tries his hardest at everything he does for his father, to make him proud to have James as a son.

But recently, since James turned seventeen, he really just wanted to skip studying and his practice and just go out and have regular teenage merman fun. He, with his newfound rebellion, sneaks out from his bedroom when the sun falls from the sky and the moon rises to take its place.

He swims up and up, goes to the very top of the ocean, head poked out as he watches the silent houses that lie above water and on land. He knows what they are and what lies within them.

As future king, he receives the scrolls that tell about the humans. The same scroll that Queen Matilda had written herself during her reign. It was his duty to be aware and know about the humans. Of course, he didn't have to watch the surface; he did that whenever his curiosity got the better of him.

Which, it seemed, was beginning to be a nightly occurrence.

And on this particular night, his curiosity did not seem to diminish like it usually did after a few minutes of watching the houses. He wanted to walk along the sand. He wanted to know what it was like to cross his legs and take deep breaths oxygen. Well, he knew what it was like to breathe oxygen now, but it was in the same. No, none of it was the same.

Human boys, they got to play sports and wander and be free, while James . . . he was confined to the water, and his royale duties. He wonders what the humans are doing, but he can probably assume that they are fast asleep in their homes, just like he should be.

He just had one more thing to do before he headed all the way back down to Hallendria . . .

He dives his head back into the water, coughing a little as his gills power back on. He swims to the outskirts of Hallendria, into a cave that the people of his kingdom knew very well to avoid.

He whispers in a small voice, "Camille? Camille, are you here?"

He had met Camille completely on accident; when he was fourteen and wanting so badly to practice the forbidden art of magic. He had swam away in the night like he was doing now, and went into what he thought was an empty cave. He met Camille and Camille's mother, learning soon that his own father had banished the Robert's family after him and the Defenders found Camille's grandmother practicing magic.

Now, Camille's grandmother and parents have passed, leaving the nearly nineteen year old girl to defend for herself. James watches as the tiny brunette wanders into view, dark eyes lightening at the sight of the charming Prince.

"James! Thank the Gods; I am so happy you were able to make it! Come on, follow me! I taught myself something REALLY cool earlier," Camille had learned and mastered the art of sorcery, yes. She takes his hand and leads him into the momentary darkness, before a dim light came on and James found them in her 'living quarters' if it could even be called as so.

She was genuinely intrigued by humans, just as her grandmother was, and often used her gift to transform herself into one. No, she wasn't a royale, just lucky. "I figured out how to change your hair color! I can make it any color or shade that you want; shall I show you how to do it?"

"I am not so sure I should practice my magic any longer. Last time I did, Dad seemed to smell it on me."

She frowns at his words. "How are you going to get any better at it if you refuse to try?" James shrugs his shoulders, and Camille rolls her eyes. "It still boggles my mind that Wicca is still illegal."

"Because, mermaids and mermen use the powers to turn themselves into humans, and we worry about the safety of Hallendria and its people."

Camille snorts. "Look at you; you're really shaping up to be king. You know everything by heart now, yeah? I'm not going to tell anyone, thank you very much."

"Never said you would. But it's the others, the unpredictable ones that we worry about."

Camille sighs, shaking her head before meeting the prince in a tight hug. "I'm going to the surface tomorrow."

"I know."

"I might not be coming back this time."

"I . . . I know."

She releases him, pets his perfect hair. "I do hope you'll join me . . ."

"Camille, please. You know that is not an option."

"But why not?"

"I am going to be crowned king in less than a year, Camille! KING!"

"You told me yourself that you did not want to be crowned. AND you even told me you wanted to visit the surface and -"

"And nothing. I have to rule. I have to get married soon, for God's sake!" He puts his head in his hands.

Camille wraps her arms around him, whispering sweet things into his ear. "Do you hear that?" James shoots up suddenly, green-blue fin swishing rapidly.

"Hear what? I don't—"

"JAMES? JAMES ISAAC DIAMOND!"

James and Camille exchange terrified glances before watching his father enter the cave. His face, his whole body is painted red with fury. Even his usually golden fin seems to be tinted red. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing? Sneaking out to be with . . . to be with a banished Wiccan! Are you mad?"

He grabs at James' wrist, yanking hard and James winces. Camille watches with wide eyes as the Prince is half-dragged out of her home, silently thinking of a way to get him back.

"I thought you were smarter than this!" His father's voice shakes the walls, along with James' body

"I'm sorry Dad, I just wasn't thinking."

"The hell you were! Zeus, please forgive me for raising a son with only half a brain. Also for being with that banished -"

"It's not her fault you banished her grandmother and everyone within her family. You—" He is slapped hard, knocking his back against the wall of his bedroom.

"You are to sit in here, study and practice. I have guards surrounding this place, you rebellious fool, so don't try anything. I still cannot believe that you have disobeyed me in his way." He shakes his head, leaving and slamming the door behind him.

All James had wanted to do was visit his friend. Well that, and watch the surface, but he was not going to tell the King _that_. He understood his father's anger, really he did. Princes must be responsible. They must be perfect. But what if . . . what if he did not aspire to be a Prince, let alone a King? He sits in his room, trying very hard to ignore the window that he has used to escape at night so very many times before. He had lost track of time; spent to many hours dreaming of the surface and now he was paying the price for it.

S_tupid!_ James thinks, _why am I so stupid?_

He swims around his room a few times before settling back on the bed with his fin polishing cream. He rubs it along his scales, sighing at the warm feeling it is giving him. He smiles when it's slippery and oh-so shiny. In Hallendria, the look of your fin was about as important to merpeople as clothes and makeup were to humans —Yes, James was vaguely aware of what makeup was —. He had just applied his final layer of polish to his fin when a knock on his window nearly startles him to death. He looks out, eyes wide when he is greeted by Camille's face. He opens it carefully, as if he opening would trigger some ear piercing alarm.

"Jailbreak! Come on, you are coming to the surface with me." The witch whispers loudly.

"What? What about the guards? Camille . . ." James is panicking.

"Sleeping spell. It won't last much longer so let's GO." She tugs on James' arm, pulling him out of his room. He looks at the sleeping guards for a long moment, before he feels the witch tugging on his arm again. Camille is ahead of him, the Prince seeing nothing but the sun and her maroon colored fin as she continues to swim up and away.

They don't speak again until they are at the edge of the water, a mile or two away from those beautiful homes.

"Camille . . . I can't . . ."

"What? Yes! Yes you can! Come on, James. Take my hand."

He studies her a moment, watching her brown eyes as if he could read her mind. Finally, he finds himself gripping on to her hand. She starts whispering something James doesn't understand, maybe a different language? He can't think about it for too long because the water starts to get excessively cold around him and the waves turn choppy. He finds himself struggling to breathe, and his fin is no longer cooperating. Then, all he sees is blackness.

When James wakes up, Camille is not with him. He is lying alone on the sandy ground, sunset his only light—wait a second, he was on dry sand. He was on the surface! Before any further examination of his human form can happen, he hears a few voices.

"Kendall, look over there! Is that . . . is that a dude?"

"Holy shit!"

He closes his eyes as he hears them rush over, slightly afraid.

"Go get my Mom, Logan!" Says a voice.

"On it!" Says another one.

"Hey," the first voice whispers to James. "Can you hear me?"

He feels hands on his torso and they press down, making the Prince groan at the awkward pain.

"Shit, sorry dude. Shit man." Is the last thing he hears before sleep covers him again.

This is what happens for the next few hours. James wakes up, eyes opening to see both a brunette and blonde male, and sometimes a red headed woman. They ask him small questions, but he can only answer a few before he passes out again. He did not like the side effects of the spell. He was human and he hadn't even gotten the chance to use his legs yet. God knows how long James has been out when he wakes up again, this time able to sit upward.

It's awkward, sitting on an actual butt rather his fin. The red head watches him with wide eyes as he cracks his neck, wincing when he does the same.

"Son? Can you talk now?" James hears the woman ask, nodding slowly as he readies his body to speak.

"Yes."

He struggles to take a breath after, body not used to using his lungs without the need of his gills. "Kendall said he and Logan saw the water go pretty crazy, and after a huge wave he saw you on the beach. You're lucky he found you when he did; you might have been pulled back to sea and drowned."

He fights back a smile at the kind woman's words. No, he definitely would not have drowned.

"Who . . . who is Kendall? Logan?" His throat hurts, which confuses him.

She sighs, bringing a cloth to his face and patting his forehead with it. "Kendall is my son, the one who carried you here. Logan is his friend."

"And where is 'here' exactly?"

"My home. Kendall's home."

James nods, forcing his lips into a tight line when they try to pull into a smile. He was in one of the houses that he watched from the water. He was with a family that he so longed to be in. He fists at the cloth covering his body, trying to get it off when the woman stops him, cheeks turning red.

"Oh, honey, wait until I'm gone." She stands up and pats some pieces of fabric that sit on a dresser. "Here are some clothes you can wear." She gives him one last smile, which he returns, before leaving and shutting the door quietly behind her.

He rids himself of the annoying cloth and looks down at his legs, grinning at them. He touches them, pokes them, and pinches them. He doesn't bother with the human reproductive organ on his body; he decides to examine it later.

Because right now, he wanted to walk.

James stands slowly, wobbling horribly for a while his legs get used to his weight. He tries to remember what the red headed woman looked like when she had left the room, and mimics her. He fails, nearly falling to the floor before grabbing at the bed. He gets himself back up and tries walking again, a little more successful. He walks from the bed to the dresser and back at least a hundred times before grabbing the clothes that the woman had so kindly supplied him.

He has seen humans wearing these 'clothes' before, read about them and their odd fashions. He has to sit back down on the bed to pull on his pants, and putting in his shirt takes multiple tries. Once he is finally dressed he wanders around the room, mainly for walking practice but also to look at all the beautiful and human things. A bookshelf in the corner reminds James of his own shelf.

These books are not like James' scrolls. They have paper pages and are soft. He liked the way they looked, the way they felt. He liked everything. He opens the door and walks out, staring at the brown staircase now in front of him. He had 'stairs' in his home, he guesses. Only they did not have these blocks, they were somewhat of a ramp-hill designed for easy access to the higher levels of his home. He grips hard on the railing, taking small steps.

"Kendall! Kendall, go help him!" He hears the woman say somewhere downstairs.

The blonde boy from earlier comes into view, James watching in awe as he jogs up the steps so easily. He takes the Prince's hand and helps him down the rest of the way. "You okay?" The boy whispers in his ear, and it sends an unfamiliar tumble down James' spine.

When he is seated, he is joined by the two boys that found him at the ocean. Kendall and Logan are their names, James is sure of it. "What is your name?" The blonde asks. "I'm Kendall," he adds before James has time to speak.

"And I'm Logan." The brunette says with a crooked grin.

"My name? Ah . . . my name is James."

They nod, and the two humans pick up what looks like silver miniature pitchforks. WHAT A WEIRD WAY TO EAT, thinks James as he grabs his own pitchfork.

"Where are we, may I ask?" James pipes up.

"The Knight Summer beach house," Kendall grins.

"Yes, a house, but where is this house located? The United States, correct?"

James watches as the two humans exchange glances. "Um, yes? The state of California."

"California . . ." James sighs, smiling to himself.

"Hey, James?"

The Prince looks over at Logan, still smiling. "Yes?"

"What . . . What happened to you? I mean, you were unconscious in the beach in the early morning. Not to mention naked,"

"Naked?"

"Yeah, naked. You know, without clothes on?"

"Oh, right." Stupid James! You were supposed to be human, remember? "Well, I was in a boat when a storm hit and knocked me off," James lies, hoping it was convincing enough.

"Where are your parents?"

James heart flutters at the word 'parent'. "My parents and I . . . we are not on speaking terms at the moment."

"Oh, really? Why?" When James doesn't respond, Kendall nudges Logan's arm and says, "Logan didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. If it's a tough subject for—"

"No, that's not it. We . . . we didn't agree on some things." The humans nod at James, who shrugs his shoulders. "I don't mind, really."

Logan leaves to go wash the dishes, leaving Kendall and James alone.

"So, um, my mom says you can stay for as long as you need."

James grins. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, she's sweet like that. How . . . how old are you?"

"I turned seventeen six days ago, actually."

Kendall's eyes lighten up. "Really? No way. I just turned eighteen six days ago!"

James grins, happy to find something in common with Kendall, even if it was only a shared birthday. Kendall is grinning back, practically beaming at James. The tingling feeling that James finds himself growing fond of returns, leaving his cheeks a rosy color.

"Does California have a King and Queen?" Kendall's smile almost immediately falters, concern plastered on his face instead. "No, no King or Queen. The United States has a president though,"

"Oh, okay." He swallows another forkful of greens from his plate.

"James?"

"Yes, Kendall?"

"Where . . . where did you come from exactly?"

"I, uh—" James struggles to think up a lie; Kendall's mossy green eyes seemed to bore a hole into his. Fortunately for him, the conversation is interrupted when a small brown haired girl comes running in.

"Is it true? Kendall, did you really find—" She stops talking when she sees James.

"Katie, what do you want?" Kendall looks agitated while Katie smiles. "Mom told me about . . . James, was it?"

James nods. "Yes, I'm James. Nice to meet you." He extends a hand, and Katie happily shakes it.

"Hi James. I'm Katie, Kendall's -"

"Very annoying little sister." The blonde finishes for her. James smiles, the two siblings reminding him of himself and his sister, the one right before James and second youngest in the Diamond household, Geneva.

James is about to speak when he notices Katie's golden necklace, and the charm hanging from it. "Your necklaces . . . do you like mermaids?"

He watches the small girl's already smiling face brighten. "Oh Jesus, yes! Why? Do you like them too?"

"Love them." James confirms, glancing over at Kendall and smiling.

The green-eyed boy smiles back, but looks somewhat distant. "Katie," Kendall says in an oddly monotone voice. "Why don't you go show James your room here? You have tons of mermaid stuff."

Katie nods, looking back at over. "Want to?" James nods, standing up slowly. He was going to see how humans portrayed his kind.

Giddiness swells his soul, and he finds himself thinking less and less about his home back in the water.

Now only if he could find Camille!

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><p><strong>Please review! :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Jesus Christ, I feel like a complete fail with this fic. I am very much in love with it, and want to make this into a very successful story, but life has just not been on my side! I have literally had this chapter written in my school notebook for the past _month_. I had no computer or internet and it was a long and painful time for me and—ugh. I have internet now, along with a working computer, so my fanfiction's are back in business! Which, includes this one! Hooraaayy!

So I have decided that every Monday, sometime after school (so between 1:45 and 11:59 P.M) there will be a new chapter posted of my two current fics: **Got it bad **and this one, **D****own Under**.

Thank you all for your encouraging views, and to those of you who alerted/Favorited this! I really don't think you understand how much I appreciate it.

I am guessing this will be about 20-25 chapter, if everything goes as planned. Which, considering I'm the writer, _will_ go as planned. I had a few questions about this, so let me clear some things up really fast:

It is Rated T because I am still not sure if I want to add any serious smut or slash to the fic. I guess we will see where the next few chapters take us. It is a possibility that I will bump it to M; keep that in mind, folks!

At first thought, it really had no relation to The Little Mermaid at all. But now, as I am working on what I want each chapter to have, I do believe that there is some kind of relation. It is not going to be like that in the case of Kendall being hypnotized into loving someone else though, don't worry. You'll just have to wait and find out, eh? ;)

Anyways, enough of my random chat. I would love if you would review, and tell me about what you think. I read all the reviews, and if you give me a good one, I'll reply! :D

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><p>James is granted his own room for the night, the "guest room" as Mrs. Knight had called it. He had successfully accomplished nearly all of his surface goals on his very first day of being a human.<p>

He met a human family. Check.

Went into one of the beautiful homes. Check.

Made a friend. . . .Kendall was considered a friend, right? He hoped so. The blonde had been very sweet and helpful to James, making the Prince's heart swell.

He sleeps soundly in his new bed for the first couple hours of the night, until a particularly terrifying dream startles him awake. He had dreamed of his Father, with all his power, trying to pull him back to the sea; back to his home. James had resisted though, not wanting to go. So much he hasn't seen yet. Done yet. So in the dream. James kicks and fails and he was almost certain he had tears in his eyes. His body is cold and wet when he wakes, mouth and throat painfully dry. He peels off his shirt, the one Mrs. Knight had given him, and then pushes the blanket—he had no idea what it was even called, referring to it as 'the piece of cloth' until Kendall had pointed it out that it's actual name was 'blanket'—to the far corner of the bed and sits in the darkness.

He lets his breathing return to normal, having a hard time recuperating from the nightmare, and then he almost forgot that he had to breathe through his mouth instead of his gills, and that was almost painful. He reaches over and takes hold of the glass of water that he had taken to bed with him and sips, making a face when he realizes that there was no salt. He was not a freshwater merman; there was no way he could stomach this. So he sets the glass back down, disappointed, trying so hard to find the sleep that has seemed to leave him entirely. His closed eyes snap open when he hears the door open, watching a tall and rather manly figure creep in.

"Kendall?" He whispers, traces of his dream and his Dad trying to take him coming back and frightening him.

"Yeah. I . . . I heard you from my room. Sounded like a pretty scary nightmare. You okay?"

James sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "I believe so. It was a fairly terrifying dream, though," He admits to the blonde.

"Well, it was only a dream. Can I . . . can I get you anything?"

James doesn't hear him; he is much too infatuated with the fact that Kendall was just _so nice_. "Thank you for your patronage. You are a very sufficient host,"

"Eh," Kendall shrugs, and grins."It's a burden I must carry." They smile at each other before Kendall coughs into his fist. "So, can I get you anything?"

James narrows his eyes, trying to think of something, before widening them and smiling. "Actually . . ."

Kendall helps James open the tab of the salt container before watching the brunette spill it into a tall glass of water. Once he thinks he has added enough, James stirs it up with his finger and brings the cut up to his lips. Taking a small sip, his whole body tingles. An energy-like current running through him.

"Perfect," James breathes, looking over at Kendall, who has his nose scrunched.

"You're so . . . so weird!" Kendall laughs, and James joins him. He probably _did_ look pretty weird to a human like him.

"Taste it." James says, trying to give his friend the glass.

"Ugh, no! I'll stick to my _normal_ drinks, thank you!" He pushes away the glass and smiles.

"You are missing out." James takes another swig of his salty drink.

"Do you want to watch some T.V?"

James nearly chokes. He was going to watch _television_. He could barely contain his excitement as he nods, following the blonde into the living quarters. He is pulled down onto the couch by Kendall, watching in complete awe as he grabs a black, thick plastic object and clicks a red button on it.

"Oh my," James says as lights and video come on the once-black screen.

"Pretty cool, huh?" They share a grin before turning back to the screen. He watches as a pretty girl with long brown hair cries into one of her pillows.

"Why is that woman sobbing?" James whispers.

"Not sure. If anything, I bet it's over a guy." Kendall sighs.

James continues to sip at his nearly empty drunk, eyes wide with energy. His fingertips and toes are tingling as he leans more on Kendall, who doesn't object.

"Thank you for making sure I was all right, and then staying up with me . . ." James whispers.

"No problem." Then it is silent, except for the sobbing girl from the television.

That morning, Kendall takes James and Katie into town. "We have to go get ice cream!" Katie says, grinning over at James. "Then we can go to the arcade. Right, Kendall?"

Kendall rolls his eyes. "Sure thing."

James stays silent, mind still reeling. Ever since he had that glass of water, his body had jolted into overdrive. Was he supposed to drink it? He wishes Camille was here to tell him how to act and what to say or not to say. He had virtually no idea what he was doing. What was ice cream? And what in the world was an arcade? He didn't ask, in fear Kendall would call him crazy and leave him. Which really was a dumb thought; Kendall had _helped_ James pour sea salt into his cup of water and was still taking him out. But he was still afraid. He follows the siblings into a building. It's cold and smells icy, making James shiver.

"What kind of ice cream do you want, James?" Katie asks him.

Kendall must notice James' distress, so he answers for him. "He wants chocolate, like me. We talked about it earlier. Go get it for us, wall ya?" He hands Katie a slip of paper, the humans currency he guesses. Once she is gone, Kendall grabs onto the Price's wrist, startling him.

"Where did you come from?" He whispers, breath ghosting over James' ear in a way that makes him sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, James. You don't know what ice cream is, you talk so formal like, and you drink water with _salt_! Not to mention those weird things you have on your ribs!"

On his ribs . . . his gills? How had Kendall seen those? James gives the blonde a look. "How did you—"

"Dude, I saw you _naked_." They watch each other intensely, only breaking eye contact when Katie hands them each their frozen treat.

He watches as the two people lap at the food, and James mimics them. It has got to the single most delicious food to ever enter the royal man's mouth. Ever. He eats it quickly, as if he doesn't finish is fast it will suddenly disappear. So quickly, in fact, that the siblings stop their eating to watch him.

"Slow down there, sailor," Kendall teases, but James winces. He was no sailor. In fact, his people despised those men.

"I'm not a _sailor_!" He says the word sailor like one would say the word 'rape'.

"It's just a saying," Kendall whispers softly, grabbing a napkin from the table and cleaning James' mouth.

"Oh." James says back. "Of course. I was aware of that."

Kendall doesn't respond, setting down the crumbled napkin on the table beside him. The door chimes open, and a girlish squeal makes the trio turn. Camille is there, legs and all. James thinks she looks very . . . odd. He likes her better with a fin. Did she think the same for him? "James! Oh my goodness!" She hurries over to him, and he can't help but notice how well she is able to walk and run.

He stands and they hug, pulling away just enough to grin at each other. "Is this your girlfriend?" He hears Katie ask.

"Oh, no! This is Camille, my best friend." He squeezes her hand as he says it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Katie." They shake hands, and James turns to see Kendall with . . . a scowl on his face? They lock eyes, but before James can ask him what's wrong, Camille interrupts.

"And you are?"

Kendall glances at her and sighs. "Kendall. Kendall Knight."

Camille joins the group, ordering a rocky road ice cream with an extra scoop as if she has lived here her whole life. She smiles at James, and his body shivers as her voice is suddenly inside of his head.

_**Sorry about leaving you. It wasn't on purpose, I swear it.**_

_I know it wasn't. I met Kendall, so it's okay._

_**Yeah, he seems nice. And into you.**_

_Into me? Camille, I really don't think he is . . ._

_**Oh, he is. Did you not see the death glare he gave me when he thought I was your girlfriend?**_

He looks over and Kendall and smiles, biting his lip.

_**And you so like him back! Yay!**_

_Be quiet, Camille. I can't like him. He's a human._

_**So?**_

So. James thought over that for a minute. He knew from his scrolls that on the surface, humans were judgmental.

In Hallendria, there was no such thing as titles. No gay, or bi, or lesbian. You loved whom who ever you loved; that was one thing James had loved. Of course, as Prince and future ruler, he would have to wed a woman—despite the fact that he preferred the company of merman, rather than mermaids—so that the Diamond dynasty would not die out. Four of his seven sisters had female counter parts, actually. It was the norm in Hallendria. But clearly, not here in California, United states.

"_**Hey James," Katie says in a weirdly monotone voice. He looks up to see her eyes glazed over and a funny way, and James knows Camille is in there, manipulating her mind like a puppet master. "Are you gay?" She blinks and her eyes are back to normal and he glares at Camille. **__Don't do that._

_**Do what? **_

_Manipulate her mind like that!_

They turn to see Kendall having a coughing fit, so surprised by Katie's sudden question.

"I don't know where that came from," Katie apologizes. "Sorry James."

"Why? In fact, yes, I am 'gay.'" He does air quotes around the word 'gay'. This makes Kendall start his fit all over again.

_**You should be inside this boy's head right now. Oh my Zeus, he likes you so much!**_

"Jesus Kendall, you all right?" Katie pats him on the back. He eventually regains composure. "Uh . . . yeah. I, uh, let's just go down to the beach and—"

"No!" Camille is quick to say, earning confused looks. "I mean, neither I nor James swim. So what's the fun in that?" James has to keep from doubling over in laughter at that one.

"You can't swim?" Kendall asks, green eyes wide.

"No, I cannot swim . . ." James chooses his words carefully.

Kendall sits back in his seat. "That explains why you were washed up on the beach, then," Katie says and James nods quickly. "Heh . . . yes. That it does."

He feels pressure on his leg, glancing up to see Kendall with a blush on his face.

_**He's flirting with you, idiot! **_Camille's voice is shouting in his head again.

_Are you making him do this?_

_**Nope. Honey, it's all him.**_

He listens for Camille's instructions on his to flirt back, but she seems to have left his mind. He feels Kendall's leg shift slightly, and panic sets in. Is this how humans flirt? Is this, pressing your legs against another, a way for Kendall to show James his affection? James thinks back to how the girls in his class would 'flirt' with him. Batting their eyelashes, brushing their hair, and polishing their fins in front of him . . . His heart is beating irrationally fast as he pushes his leg closer to Kendall's trying to be as cool about it as possible.

This was the first time James didn't know what to do, here on the surface. Those human anatomy and lifestyle scrolls that had been passed down to him did not prepare him for 'flirting'. Or doing any sort of romantic things with the walkers, for that matter.

Kissing was the same, at least. He knows only because he witnessed a human couple kiss on the way to the ice cream shop. They had walked with their arms linked, obviously in love.

He wanted that. He wanted to walk hand in hand with his love. Walk. Walk? He wonders why he said _walk_. Sid he truly want to spend the rest of his days here, on the surface? His Father might come looking for him; Hell, he probably had men on the surface looking for him now.

The pressure on his leg is gone and he sees everyone getting up. "To the arcade!" Katie declares, making James smile.

Of course, he only smiles wider when Kendall takes his hand in his as they walk.


	3. Chapter 3

Nice to see you all again! I am now in fic mode again. School is almost out for the summer—Less than two weeks!—so I will have _lots _of time to write _**Down Under**_ and _**Got it bad**_, my two in-progress fics. Hoping to finish _**Got it bad**_by the end of May-beginning of June, actually, so I can focus completely on this story. I have everything planned out in my head, just have to write it down. Harder than it sounds for me, unfortunately. Chapter three though! Yay! I redid the summary for this fic as well, because the summary sounded sort of . . . well, lame. It was really lame. _**Got it bad**_'s summary was even worse, but they are both much better now. Anyways, it's getting late and I have to be up relatively early for school, so goodnight and I _will_ be seeing you soon!

(:

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><p>As the days go on, James starts to think that maybe Kendall <em>did<em> like him. They held hands everywhere they went except when Kendall's mom was around them. Kendall says that he doesn't want her worrying. What would she have to worry about? They hadn't done anything but hold hands . . . well, Kendall did try to kiss once, or at least James thinks he did.

They had stayed up late watching another sappy movie on some vintage channel, and Kendall was getting closer and closer to James and sort of . . . kissed his cheek. James guesses that if Kendall had been able to see what he was kissing, he probably wouldn't have missed. Kendall looked kind of hurt after James didn't do anything, and now he wishes he had been the one to initiate the late night kiss.

After all, James could see perfectly fine in the darkness. All merpeople had a lens of sorts on their eye, which flips down when it's dark and flips up when it is light.

When is first happened to James, as a human, two days ago—the first time he was in a truly dark environment—it _hurt_. Like shooting an arrow into your eye kind of pain. He drank some of the salt water though, and while feeling charged, he turned off all the lights and waited for the tiny click feeling. It didn't hurt, but it did make his eyes water slightly.

He still hasn't asked Camille about it yet, but he keeps a bottle of the salty water by his side at all times. And the night they watched movies, he had two bottled downed before the end of dinner. The morning after, he was still high from the energy. He was going to meet Camille for lunch, going to finally have some mer-to-mer socializing. He had so many questions for the witch. First of all, where did she live on the surface? Did she stay with someone? Camille seemed pretty popular with everyone; Wiccan charm, that's what she says.

"Good morning," James says when he sees Kendall preparing a tall glass of purple-colored drink. Kendall looks up and smiles. James' legs feel weak, just from his smile.

"Hi!" Kendall takes a long drink before setting it back down on the counter. "I was thinking . . . we should totally go into town today, just me and you. There's this really awesome—"

"I am going to go into the town today to meet with Camille," James interrupts him, and the blonde's smile disappears. "Oh, yeah, okay. Never mind then."

Kendall looks at his feet, and James can nearly feel his embarrassment. "Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow, perhaps?"

"Huh? I-I never said we were going on a date!"

James smiles. "But that is what you want, right?" He leans dangerously close, and the tension coming from Kendall is almost unbearable. "You want a date?" He repeats, smiling when Kendall nods.

He wants so much more than a date. He wants to kiss him. James is so polite and unusual and sexy and Kendall just wants to kiss him. He tries, kissing the air when James suddenly pulls back and away, turning his head. "You can wait," He sticks out his tongue and Kendall doesn't know if _can_ wait.

* * *

><p>When he finally meets up with Camille, his legs are throbbing. He tells her about his pain, and she makes a tsk'ing noise. "Your body is still trying to adjust to the legs. Take it easy."<p>

He doesn't want to take it easy. He wants to be able to walk or run around for hours, like a normal human. Jump around and skip; whatever it was humans do. He hasn't even tried to run yet, of course.

"Have you taken a bath yet?" is what Camille asks next.

"I took a shower and washed my hair, but my legs were starting to bind so I ran out as fast as I could after that."

"Yeah, that's one of the spell's faults. You can stay in human form as long as you don't stay in un-salted water for more than ten minutes. Twenty if the water has chorine in it."

"Really? Why? What about salted water?"

"I don't really know. It's just the way it works. And in salted water . . . uh, you have about thirty seconds to a minute before they bind. Then it's back to fin for you!"

"If that happens . . . if my legs turn back into a fin, you can fix me right? Turn it back to legs?"

"Of course. You could do it yourself though, you know. You're full of wonderful potential magic." She pokes his arm and he smiles. "Any problems with your gills?"

"Hmm. I don't think so. Kendall did ask about them though."

"Really? What did he say exactly? What did _you_ say?" She watches the Prince carefully, sipping at her dark bubbly drink.

"He just asked me what they were. I didn't say anything." James stares at the thousand mini bubbles in her drink, pointing at the glass. "Please explain to me what that is, Camille. It looks absolutely revolting."

She just grins at him. "Taste it."

He immediately leans back in his chair. "No, no thank you. I am sure I am not going to enjoy it."

He raises an eyebrow when Camille rolls her eyes. He didn't usually notice, but in this bright sunlight he can see the night lens below her eye when she rolls them. He would have to remember that.

"Stop talking like that!"

"Huh? Talking like what?"

"Like you're a Prince,"

"Camille, I _am_ a Prince!"

"Not here. Here you are James Diamond, regular human."

"Sorry, it's hard to talk any different way after ten plus years of etiquette tutoring."

"Well try, Princey."

"Who are you calling Princey? I am not a Prince; I am just James Diamond, regular human!" That makes them laugh, and James is even happier for leaving. _Speaking of . . ._ "Have you heard any news? About Hallendria?"

As much as the human part of him didn't want to know, the mer side couldn't help but worry. "Honestly? Your mom and dad are both sad and angry. Your sister might become Queen."

"Sister? Which one?"

". . . Does it matter?"

No, James guessed it didn't really matter. He wanted to know though. He shouldn't know, but he wanted to. Fighting himself and not asking again, he asks instead, "How do you get all of this information?"

Camille smiled a giant toothy grin, sort of frightening James, and whispered, "A very good friend."

"A friend? A merman? Does he live on the surface too, like us?" So many questions to be asked.

"Sometimes. He prefers life in the water, though." She sighs. "Shame, really. He is a very loyal and friendly Wiccan, unlike most of us."

"You're a Wiccan and you're friendly?" James says, eyebrows knitting together.

"To you, yes. To others? Not so much." She grins at him again and James chuckles.

"So, if you don't drink stuff like this," She motions to her almost empty glass of bubbly drink, "What _do_ you drink?"

"Just . . . water." Her reaction is a sharp gasp, like her breath has caught in her throat mid-way. It startles James, his eyes wide. "What_ kind_ of water?"

"Um, why?"

She rolls her eyes, James staring at the night lens once again. "We are trying to be human. If you drink salt water, you are making it harder for your body to finish the changes."

"But I feel so _good_ when I drink it!" He is whining, sort of like a child does when they can't get what they want. As embarrassing at it is, James feels like he is going to cry.

"Of course you feel good. It heightens your mood and sense of smell and touch . . . and your hormones . . ." She stops talking, just watching James. "Do you know what sex is?"

"What kind of sex? Human sex or merpeople sex?"

"Human. Obviously."

"Um, I understand the basics. Why?"

She grins her scary toothy grin. "Welcome to advanced Human anatomy. Class has begun."

* * *

><p>By the time James returns to his temporary home, all he can think about is sex. He understands and yet doesn't. Why would anyone want to put their mouth on . . .<p>

He blinks away the thought, willing himself to think of something else. This was hard, considering Camille has used such fancy words and lingo and phrases and even got inside his head and showed him. He has all but gotten rid of the dirty thoughts when Kendall steps inside from the patio, torso bare and shiny.

"Went swimming?" James asks coolly, trying not to think about his hands and what people do with hands, not to mention tongues and even with their—

"Yep. Man, you should really come to the beach sometime with me." When James doesn't respond, Kendall shakes his head. "Oh duh. I forgot. Sorry."

He starts to walk toward the Prince when James puts a hand up, signaling him to stop. "Don't touch me until you have dried off completely."

Kendall looks hurt by James' request, but nods his head either way and lunges for the stairs. James sits on the couch, getting comfortable before letting his mind wander.

Wandering from Hallendria to the surface, where humans have weird and down right dirty sex with each other. Camille says that even though it sounds—and looks—weird, it feels good. He wonders how she knows that exactly. He wonders if Kendall knows . . .

His groin strains against his borrowed jeans, and he decides he'd rather have no knowledge of human sex. It sounded so wrong and so right at the same time and makes James' head spin, not to mention the things it did to his human form. The feeling of having something hard and heavy tucked away in his pants wasn't what James wanted. So when he rubs it, truly hoping for it to go away, why does his breath hitch? He can't do it anymore; he can hear Kendall coming back down. He conceals it with a pillow, pretends to be fascinated with its pattern.

"Hey, you," Kendall is smiling. When is he not, though? James isn't exactly complaining, of course. He was very fond of his lips, and teeth, and really—

"Hi," James' voice is as strained as his erection.

"So . . . I'm dry,"

"Clearly." James didn't mean for it to sound as rude as it did.

"Are you okay?" Kendall sits next to the Prince.

"What? Yes, I'm fine."

Kendall just stares at him. "You have nice lips," He whispers.

"Thank you." James whispers back. That is obviously not what Kendall had been hoping to hear.

"Yeah . . . all right, well I'm going to make dinner. Mom and Katie won't be back till late." James just nods, the strain almost gone.

Well, that was one thing James did not prefer over being a merman.

* * *

><p>The blonde watches James carefully as he eats, conjuring up a plan to finally his him. His heart is pulled to him, and he can't figure out why. Hell, actually he does. That hair, and those eyes and his smile and <em>my God<em>, it was like he washed up on the beach just so he could meet Kendall. The taller boy excuses himself from the table, leaving Kendall alone. His phone rings and he knows its Logan, knows he is going to want to know more about James.

He answers, presses it close to his ear and sighs. "Hello?"

"Kendall!"

"Hey, Log. What's up?"

"Oh, you know . . . just wanted to invite you to the Jennifer's annual bonfire, that's all." Kendall can practically hear Logan's cocky smile in his voice. "You in bro?"

"No way! You got us invites?"

"Um, sort of. They saw you with that James kid and told me that we could come if he does."

Kendall sighs. "Of course. Uh, when is the bonfire? What time?"

"Tomorrow night, ten to . . . all night, I guess."

"So we bring James? Anything else?"

"Nah, I'm sure they'll have enough booze to get the whole town wasted." They both laugh over that, and Kendall says goodbye so that he can go ask James.

He hurries up the stairs, pausing at James' slightly open door. He breath catches in his throat, face against the crack as he watches James move around without a shirt on. The marks on his ribs . . . almost like cuts, or flaps of skin. He is sure that are . . . moving? It also looks like James is breathing rather hard, like he is having a difficult time. Tempted to run in and help, he restrains. He watches the brunet put his hands over the mysterious and slightly creepy things and take a few deep breaths. Kendall is, honestly, afraid. It was like James was some sort of alien.

He pulls back and knocks loudly. "James?"

The door opens half a second later, Kendall taking note that James has pulled on a shirt. "Hello, Kendall." He's out of breath.

"There's a party tomorrow night, want to go?"

"What kind of party?"

"Just a regular teenage party. You know, all us _humans_ go to them." He narrows his eyes.

"Of course I know. I'd love to accompany you to the party, thank you for inviting me."

". . . No problem." James smiles at him, and the urge to grab the taller brunet and kiss him comes up again. Of course he ignores it, instead nodding awkwardly with a tiny smile and closing the door. He runs back downstairs, sending Logan a quick and urgent text.

_James is down for the party. He is like an alien or something bro!_

He rereads the text, knowing he sounds sort of insane, but still sends it. The vibration of his phone signaling an incoming text is almost instant.

_**Really? We need a plan!**_

His thumbs race across his keyboard.

_Operation Find Out What James Is is a go!_

_**F.O.W.J.I. Nice.**_

Laughing at Logan's text, he sets his phone down beside him. Yes, plan FOWJI was in motion.

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><p>Review? Let me know how I'm doing, or maybe give me some ideas on what you want to see happen?<p> 


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